Translator: AkazaTL

Proofreader/Editor: JWyck

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Chapter 265

“Support has arrived,” Su Bei said, eyes on the sky. Tiny black dots appeared, rapidly growing—Ability Users, clearly Endless Ability Academy’s support.

Ye Lin knew she couldn’t wait. If Mo Xiaotian didn’t leave now, even with items, he might not escape safely. The dagger had pierced Zhou Renjie—she trusted the poison’s strength. She leapt out, shattering Ai Baozhu’s [Gorgeous Domain], and grabbed Mo Xiaotian, “Let’s go!”

Mo Xiaotian stopped stalling Mu Tieren, activated an item, and vanished with Ye Lin.

A second later, support arrived. Ai Baozhu, frantic, pulled the purple-faced Zhou Renjie forward, “Save him! He’s poisoned!”

A faint white glow enveloped Zhou Renjie—his defense item preserving his life. Ai Baozhu knew it meant he was in critical condition.

The item wasn’t foolproof; he needed urgent care.

His purple face showed the severity. The support captain didn’t delay, sending the fastest member to rush Zhou Renjie back.

After they left, he asked, “What happened? Why was Black Flash here?”

Before Mu Tieren could answer, the captain got a call. Listening, his expression hardened, “Where’s Mo Xiaotian? Is he… still here?”

Mu Tieren gave a bitter smile, “He’s Black Flash. He caused this attack and Zhou Renjie’s injury. He just fled with the defected Teacher Ye Lin.”

Seeing their downcast faces, the captain fell silent. Then, recalling, “Weren’t you five? Where’s the other one?”

“Here,” Su Bei stepped out from behind the rock.

He didn’t hide—Black Flash and the mole would trigger a thorough investigation of everyone’s movements. Hiding was futile, so he showed himself.

“Su Bei? Why’re you here?” Ai Baozhu’s eyes widened, briefly forgetting her distress.

Su Bei shrugged, “I came with Teacher Ye Lin. She was assigned to keep me out of it.”

From anyone else, it’d sound absurd, but from Su Bei, it felt true. He was worth Black Flash’s caution.

The captain said nothing, taking them back. At the academy, the three were isolated—no longer suspected, just a precaution.

Soon, Su Bei was called out. Meng Huai and the detective were there. Meng Huai nodded, “Spill—what happened today?”

Su Bei didn’t hide it, recounting, “We reached the site, I handled the main task, others killed Nightmare Beasts. After finishing, I went to a restaurant. Teacher Ye Lin showed up, watching me to keep me out of the way. I warned her the academy’s support was coming, so we went to Mu Tieren’s location. After Mo Xiaotian acted, support arrived, and Ye Lin took him away. That’s it.”

The detective caught an odd point, “You finished your task early—why not join the others? From what I know, you didn’t finish at noon, right?”

True—Su Bei finished at 10 a.m., not mealtime. He should’ve joined his team.

He didn’t flinch, giving the detective a “you idiot” look, “To slack off, obviously.”

Detective: “…”

Hard to believe he’d say that so boldly. Speechless, he looked at Meng Huai, who nodded—Su Bei’s character checked out.

“What’d you talk about with Black Flash’s Ye Lin?” the detective moved on.

Su Bei said briefly, “She invited me to join Black Flash. I refused.”

Black Flash always recruited talent—his invitation wasn’t odd. The detective didn’t ask dumb questions like why he didn’t resist—she hadn’t attacked him, so why get hurt?

After a moment, he asked, “Have you worked with Black Flash?”

“Yes,” Su Bei admitted openly.

The detective couldn’t press further. Students’ private actions, if legal, were their own. The academy couldn’t interfere. He nodded, “I’m done. You can go.”

Back in the classroom, everyone was present. No classes, but it was the best spot for gossip. Class S knew the classroom was gossip central.

“Su Bei, did you hear? Mingbai’s a prince!” Zhao Xiaoyu announced excitedly, like it was huge news.

For ordinary folks, an orphan-turned-prince was massive—a childhood dream.

Su Bei, informed via the manga, wasn’t shocked, “So, he’s out?”

“Of course. He’s reuniting with his parents in another classroom,” Zhao Xiaoyu nodded, then worried, “Wonder if he’ll go back to his country with them. That’d mean dropping out…”

She didn’t say it, but the academy’s actions were harsh. Misled by Black Flash, they suspected Wu Mingbai without thorough checks. If not for Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing’s trust, they might’ve realized his innocence only after Mo Xiaotian’s defection.

If Wu Mingbai, disappointed, quit, it’d be understandable. The academy might feel embarrassed but wouldn’t care much about losing one student.

For Class S, losing a year-long comrade this way was painful, especially since they hadn’t fully backed him.

“If Tianming stays, Mingbai probably will too,” Si Zhaohua said rationally. “We’ll apologize when they’re back. We misjudged him.”

Su Bei, less morally driven, smirked, “His opponent was Mo Xiaotian. Not seeing through him’s normal.”

Silence fell.

It was a bit unethical, but true. Mo Xiaotian, the ultimate silly sweetheart—who’d suspect him?

Su Bei, unusually kind, added, “Teacher Ye Lin said Mo Xiaotian was hypnotized to never betray Black Flash or expose his mole status.”

It was pointless now, but it comforted them. They hadn’t misjudged—he was “cheating.”

“What about Zhou Renjie?” Ling You, usually quiet, asked.

Ai Baozhu’s face darkened, “The poison’s in his nerves, unremovable. We’re stabilizing him with items while seeking a cure.”

Zhou Renjie’s condition was dire, as expected—Black Flash meant for Mo Xiaotian to kill him, no mercy.

Meng Huai entered with Mu Tieren, the last to be questioned.

He cut to the chase, “It's confirmed: Mo Xiaotian is Black Flash’s mole. He’s been expelled from Endless Ability Academy. Justice is coming—he won’t escape. We’re acting.”

Everyone looked shocked. The academy was already moving? He was just exposed—how did they react so fast?

Su Bei raised an eyebrow, he'd underestimated Endless Ability Academy. He’d thought, as a manga institution, it was useless. But they’d likely acted when suspects were narrowed down to four, preparing countermeasures for betrayal. They focused on Wu Mingbai but didn’t ignore the others.

Unethical but smart.

“Teacher, can Zhou Renjie be cured?” Mu Tieren, present at the attack, couldn’t hold back, knowing the poison’s severity.

Non-lethal poison wouldn’t turn someone purple in seconds.

Meng Huai didn’t sugarcoat it, “Not likely. I asked the academy doctors—without knowing the poison Black Flash used, it’s hard to crack. Without many samples, a quick antidote is near impossible.”

“Many samples?” Si Zhaohua’s eyes lit up. “If we drink Zhou Renjie’s blood, we’d get the same poison, right?”

“You want to test it yourself? No way. Not even the Si Family would…” Meng Huai started.

Si Zhaohua cut in calmly, “I won’t test it myself. Money makes the world go round, doesn’t it?”

Everyone got it—he’d pay for test subjects. With enough money, volunteers would come.

Ai Baozhu nodded first, “Great idea! I’ll split the cost.”

Zhao Xiaoyu’s expression grew complex. It was consensual, and Si Zhaohua and Ai Baozhu wouldn’t force anyone. But as an ordinary person, it felt chilling.

Consent didn’t mean there was no coercion. If the powerful pressured the weak to “volunteer,” wasn’t it indirect villainy?

She felt she was overthinking it—a one-off shouldn’t go wrong. But opening that door could lead to trouble.

Meng Huai shared her concern, plus he didn’t want students learning money solved everything. Money was powerful, but it had limits. He preferred they solve problems with their own means.

If someone died in the tests, would Si Zhaohua feel guilt? Meng Huai knew his students—they were mostly kind-hearted.

Si Zhaohua seemed calm proposing it, but a death, even if paid for, would haunt him.

With a classmate’s life at stake and no better options, Meng Huai couldn’t stop them. Saving Zhou Renjie took priority over moral lessons.

“There’s another way,” Feng Lan spoke. “Do you know about the All-Knowing Conch?”

Zhao Xiaoyu didn’t, but well-connected Ability Users knew it. Su Bei had read about it in Destiny’s database.

A conch that answered one question per person, always correctly.

Though called an item, it was a special Nightmare Beast, mindless but harmful—its use caused death.

Death could be blocked by items like a Substitute Doll, Life-Saving Array, or Life Stone Shard, leaving the user unharmed.

Si Zhaohua’s group had plenty of such items. Finding the All-Knowing Conch could easily reveal Zhou Renjie’s poison cure.

“Great method!” Si Zhaohua’s calm face broke into a smile, showing he disliked the original plan.

“What method?” Jiang Tianming’s trio entered, beaming from a happy reunion.

Mu Tieren explained briefly, then faced Wu Mingbai, apologizing solemnly, “Sorry, Mingbai, for doubting you. If we’d trusted you more, you wouldn’t have suffered.”

With him leading, others apologized. Misjudging a comrade was wrong, and they owed it to him.

Seeing their sincerity, Wu Mingbai pursed his lips, “I didn’t suffer much…”

The government, cautious due to Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing’s efforts, hadn’t mistreated him—just isolated him.

He was upset—being distrusted sucked, especially with no way to fight back.

But was he really mad? Not quite. His opponents were Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian—nobody would suspect them.

Su Bei’s open Black Flash deal proved he wasn’t a mole. If he was and could still be so bold, Wu Mingbai would admit defeat gracefully.

Mo Xiaotian, too—if Black Flash sent such a fool, Wu Mingbai would concede. He’d doubted Zhou Renjie’s intel, not them.

Facing their earnest looks, he sighed, smiling, “Fine, you got stabbed by Xiaotian too. I’ll graciously forgive you.”

As they started a reunion scene, Su Bei cut in, “Where’s the All-Knowing Conch?”

Back to Zhou Renjie’s crisis, Feng Lan answered calmly, “Vixi Holy Land has one.”

Though a few were documented, only Vixi Holy Land’s was widely known.

Luckily, they all had access to Vixi Holy Land, with flexible timing. Their “VIP” status could adjust their schedule and others’, if not conflicting.

Si Zhaohua looked at Meng Huai, “How long can Renjie hold?”

“Two weeks if we do nothing,” Meng Huai, well-informed, replied.

“Do nothing” meant pausing his defense item to study his body for treatment, shortening his survival.

If Si Zhaohua’s group found a cure via the All-Knowing Conch, there would be no need for that.

“Got it,” Si Zhaohua nodded, turning to Feng Lan, “Can you contact Vixi Holy Land to move our visit to the next two days?”

Besides the government, only the Feng Family could reach Vixi Holy Land. Their influence, if not strength, rivaled the Si Family.

“Sure,” Feng Lan nodded, indifferent but willing to help a year-long classmate like Zhou Renjie.

“One more thing,” Wu Mingbai said from his seat, “My… father plans to take me to Yafei Kingdom during break to announce my identity. Wanna come along?”

Others knew vaguely of his royal ties. Now learning it was Yafei Kingdom, they gasped.

Small but unique, Yafei had a famed guardian deity, Gao Di An Zhuo, existing since Nightmare Beasts appeared, saving the nation multiple times.

Su Bei hadn’t focused on it, but it was common “hot knowledge.” Gao Di An Zhuo’s form was unknown, seen only by royals.

During invasions, Yafei became impregnable—rivers and mountains shifted, disasters like earthquakes struck enemies.

Many sought Gao Di An Zhuo yearly, returning empty-handed. Su Bei suspected survivor bias—many likely died there.

Destiny’s records on Gao Di An Zhuo were more intriguing than public ones, though he hadn’t delved deep.

“You’ll learn what Yafei’s guardian deity is?” Ai Baozhu said excitedly, buoyed by Zhou Renjie’s cure prospect.

It wasn’t just Ability world knowledge— it was a public secret. Wu Mingbai, curious, shook his head, “I'm not sure. I’m a late returnee. Even if I learn its identity, I can’t say.”

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